1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method for making a decorative, substantially planar sheet made of glass or a polymeric material. In particular, the invention relates to a process for applying designs on one of the broad, flat sides of a substantially rigid, planar sheet of material, with the design being viewed through the sheet from the other side of the sheet. The sheets can be advantageously be used as decorative panels, either interior or exterior, or the sheets can be formed into other shapes such as counter tops, tube and shower surrounds, cabinet doors, and cabinet drawer facings, for example. In a particularly preferred form, the sheet has a surface appearance which is virtually indistinguishable from polished natural materials such as wood and marble.
2. State of the Art
Decorative sheets and panels made of polymeric material for use as wall panels, counter tops, table tops, cabinet facings, tub and shower surrounds, etc., are well known in the art. Various methods have been used to provide numerous designs on the surface of such sheets and panels. Heretofore, however, it has been virtually impossible to produce a design, especially one that does not have a pattern repeat, on large, planar, rigid sheets made of glass or synthetic, polymeric materials.
Cast acrylic material has been formed into sheets and panels as well as other shapes. Such cast acrylic items can be made to quite closely resemble polished marble and other polished mineral materials, but the articles made of cast acrylic are generally expensive and are not true to duplication. It would be highly desirable to provide a relatively inexpensive sheet made of glass or polymeric material which resembles very closely the feel and look of polished marble and other polished mineral materials. It is further desirable to provide a large planar sheet of glass or polymeric material on which a design has been faithfully transferred wherein the decorated sheet resembles any of various surfaces.
The present inventors have previously discovered that sheets of glass or acrylic material which are semi-opaque, especially those having a milky white appearance, can be made to close resemble polished marble or other polished mineral materials. The sheet of acrylic material first had a powdered pigment applied to the underside of the sheet. A coating of contact cement such as rubber cement was then applied to the surface of the sheet of material containing the powdered pigment, and a protective layer was firmly adhered to the exposed surface of the rubber cement.
Although it was possible to make the acrylic sheets closely resemble polished marble, it was found that the person applying the powdered pigment had to be extremely skilled. In addition, even when the powdered pigment was applied by a skilled artist, it was possible to achieve any degree of uniformity from one sheet of material to the next. There must be a mineral degree of uniformity from sheet to sheet to make the sheets resemble polished marble or other mineral material mined from a particular quarry. Because the method was labor intensive and therefore expensive, and because of the lack of being able to achieve any degree of uniformity from one sheet of material to the next, the method and the products, although being aesthetically acclaimed, are not completely successful commercially.
3. Objectives
A particular objective of the invention is to provide an improved, novel, inexpensive method of making large, essentially planar sheets of glass or polymeric material that have surfaces that resemble very closely various items such as polished wood, polished marble or other polished mineral materials, wherein it is possible to achieve the desired degree of uniformity from one sheet of material to the next, and further wherein a large sheet having a dimensions of at least three feet wide by 8 feet long can be produced without repeated patterns appearing in the designs formed on the surface of the sheet.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a novel process for reverse printing a design on large, rigid, planar sheets of glass or plastic material, wherein the design is separated into at least two components including a background component, a foreground component and any intermediate components, with the foreground being printed first and then subsequently printing the intermediate components, if any, and finally printing the background component so that the design is viewed through the sheet from the side opposite that to which the design is printed.